Bowland s



(No Model.)

B. S. NORTON.

, SEWING MAGHINEGAGE.

N0. 280,758. Patented July 3, 1883.

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UNITED STATES ROWVLAND S.

PATENT ,QFFICEQ NORTON, OF TROY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE E.

OLUETT, BROTHER & (30., OF SAME PLACE.

SEWING-MACHINE GAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,758, dated July 3,1883.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known. that I, ROWLAND S. NORTON, of the city of Troy, in thecounty of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Sewing-Ma'- chine Gages; andI do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description theinvention, that will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

My invention relates to improvements in sewing-machine gages and itconsists in constructing the gage in several sliding parts adapted toslide and be secured in position independently of each other.

The object of my invention is to provide a gage to be used 011 asewing-machine to run a seam of different widths without stopping themachine or breaking the thread when changing from a seam of one width tothat of another, and adaptable to fit into angles.

My invention is especially adapted to the manufacture of collars andthat class of collars in which the body part of the collar is made oftwo or more plies of cloth integral with the corresponding plies of theband part of the collar. In constructing such a collar the plies arefirst laid one upon another, wrong side out. The plies are then run orsewed together around the edges of one side and at both ends, when theyare turned right side out and stitched together at the edges entirelyaround the collar. The seam formed by sewing the plies together wrongside out is called a run seam by collar-manufacturers, and it oftenbecomes of the greatest importance to run seams of different widths inthe same collar or other garment and without stopping the sewing-machineor break ing the thread in changing. I The mechanism by which I attainthis object is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure1 is a plan View of my improvement as a whole in position to run a wideseam. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the gage in a position to change from anarrow to a wide seam. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the gage in a positionfor runthrough the slot 6 iir'slideB and slot 9 in slide Y These slidestogether form what may be termeda sectional gage. The narrow middleslide, 0, is held in position between the slides R and Done on each sideand the plate A beneath and the plate E above. Each one of the slides isprovided with small knobs c,

c, and c, which serve as handles to slide them back and forth. Springs Fand G are also secured, by screws or Otherwise, to the sides of theplate E, which engage with the notches i and hold the slides fromsliding when not desired, but are easily overcome by a slight pressureof the hand of the operator upon the knobs c and c. In the same way thespring M acts upon a similar notch in the top of slide 0, to hold itin.place ,I is an instrument called by coll ar-men a cowcatcher, andwill be more fully explained hereinafter. H represent the presser-footof an ordinary sewing-machine, with the slot K, through which needle ofthe machine passes up and down when at work. In the three figures onSheet 2 I have shown the different positions assumed by the gage atdifferent stages of the work, and have also shown in dotted lines therelative positions assumed by the goods, representing the goods asacollar to be runwith a narrow seam around the edges of the band part,and with a seam about twice as wide around the body part.

In Fig. 4 the slides of the gage are brought forward almost in contactwith the presserfoot, and held there by the springs F and G, which nowengage the notches 4; farthest from the face of the gage, and the facesof the three slides, by being in one and the same straight line,together form a straight-face gage in position to run a narrow seam. Ifthe collar is then placed in the position shown by the dotted lines, itis drawn by the feed to the right. When the curved end of thecollar-band reaches the needle, the other end of the collar is carriedaround by the operator until. the body part of the collar reaches thegage, when the slide Bis pushed back out of the way, as shown in Fi 8,and the collar then advances to the position also shown by dotted linesin Fig. 3, (except that for the purposes of illustration a portion ofthe collar is represented as passing the slide G.) In practice, however,the yielding nature of the goods would permit the collar to be bent orpulled up against slide 0, and the rest of the collar would assume theposition shown. As soon as the collar has reached the position shown inFig. 3 the slide D is pushed back to the position shown in Fig. 2, andthe collar carried back to the position shown in Fig. 2, which is easilydone without removing it from under the presser-foot and while theneedle ot' the machine is in full operation. After the collar reachesthe position shown in Fig. 2 the slide B is brought forward againagainst the collar, which brings it for ard just enough to permit thespring F to engage with the first notch i in slide B and hold the slidein that position until again changed by the operator. The slide 0 isimmediately pushed back one notch, which bringsv its face in the samestraight line with the face of slide B. The slide 1) is then broughtforward until its face is in the same line with that of the otherslides, when we have a straightface gage again, but adapted to run awide seam, and with its parts occupying the same positions shown in,Fig. 1, Sheet 1.

Experience teaches that, in running a wide seam wit-h the gage at adistance from the presser-foot, the goods occupying the space betweenthe gage and presser-foot are liable to rise up over the gage or doubleup and give a wrong direction to the line of the seam. To overcome thisdifliculty, collar-men use what they call a cowcatcher, which isrepresented in Fig. 1 by the letter I.

My method of constructing and operating the cow-catcher is shown inFig. 1. lt is rigidly attached to a loose shaft, J, which is supportedby two posts, P, erected upon the slide K, an ranged to slide in thesame manner as B and I). The shaft J' is provided with an arm, L,rigidly attached thereto, also with a spring, 72, one end of whichpasses under the arm L and the other rests upon the slide K, whichserves to press the end of the arm or cow-catcher I downward, while theoperator is enabled to raise the same by pressing down upon the arm orlever L. \Vhen, therefore, the collar or other goods has advanced to theposition shown in Fig. 2, and the slides have all been adjusted to theproper line, as described, the slide K is brought forward until thecow-catcher is directly over the space between the gage and thepresser-foot, where it is dropped and allowed to assume the positionshown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. In removing the cow-catcher theoperator presses down upon the lever or arm L and pushes the slide Kback to a convenient position, as shown by the full. lines in Fig. 1.The cow-catcher is provided at or near its end with the lug orprojection S, which projects over the presser-foot when in use, as shownby the dotted lines in Fig. 1. This arrangement compels the cow-catcherto follow all the vertical movements of the presser-foot and rise withit when the press'erfoot is elevated for any purpose.

I am aware that straightface gages and gages having their facesirregular in shape have been employed in connection with sewingn1aehines, and that cow-catchers have been attached to thepresser-foot.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*

l. A sectional sewing-machine gage having its sections in the samehorizontal plane and adjustable relatively to one another and to theneedle, whereby the same sections may be adjusted to form asinglestraight-faced gage or a single angle-faced gage, substantially asdescribed, and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a sewing-machine gage, the slides B, C, and D, provided withnotches i, in combi nation with their respective springs F, M, and G,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day ofJanuary, 1883.

.ROXVLAND S. NORJTON.

Vitnesses:

W. H. HOLLISTER, J12, JOHN T. Boo'rn.

